A-Rigs and umbrellas

After a few years and still a bit of controversy, these rigs have been accepted by some anglers and circuits and banned in others. Some anglers consider them unethical or unsportsmanlike as they allow you to fish 3-5 baits based on your local state laws at one time. When they first arrived on the scene in the Fall of 2011 they raised quite a stir in the fishing world. Anglers were claiming they would saine all the lakes in the USA out with these things. As with any bait if you are not fishing productive water or the right baits on it you are not gonna catchem' on this bait any better than any other. I have caught quite a few fish on them over the years and have found them to be very good in certain situations. They still prove out to be very good in cold water situations and are catching great stringers in the winter months.

I think this bait is best used in the Fall to early spring in deeper water when fish are chasing schools of shad and offer a bit more temptation since there are several baits together in a small ball. I caught several good fish this fall on them targeting creek channels where they intersect with the main channel. They are also good on ledges, points and humps in deeper water. I vary the size of baits when prefishing til the fish tell me what size and color they want and then concentrate on that size and color once I have caught a few fish on them. I will also use a larger bait on the center line at times to make it look like a bigger shad chasing smaller ones. I have caught some of my best fish with it rigged that way. A couple more of my own personal tips are these. I like to use wire hooks on the baits as when you get tangled you can usually pull it free by getting over the top of it or on the backside of it, but with wire hooks you can straighten them if you need to. Definitely use a heavy swimbait or one of the many new Alabama Rig rods on the market and braid to reduce the stress on your rods and yourself. These rigs are a workout to fish with and I have broken a couple of rods fishing them just due to stress on the rod.

I hope to get a video or two done this winter and spring to add to this page. There are lots of considerations down to color and varying colors as well as speeds to fish the rig and the amount of weight to use.

Here's a little video our buddy Hunter did on fishing an A-rig. He has a couple of good little tips in here. Make sure to subscribe to his Youtube channel while your at it. ​

To subscribe to our newsletter, click the button below for updates from Mid-South Bass Fishing and Primary Tackle.